Finnish President Sauli Niinistö said on Wednesday that he had held constructive discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the issue. Damage occurred to the gas pipeline from Finland to Estonia in October last year..
Finnish police announced that the Hong Kong-flagged container ship NewNew Polar Bear was the main suspect in the damage to the Baltic Connector gas pipeline.
But they said late last year that it was too early to say whether the incident was an accident or a deliberate act.
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A large anchor, believed to belong to a Chinese ship, was found near the pipeline, and investigators said the pipe likely broke as the anchor was dragged across the ocean floor.
The BalticConnector pipeline sits between the two Nord Stream 1 pipelines. According to officials, the pipeline has been dragged 100 meters from its installation site and is currently 4 kilometers out. Field report.
Divers found an anchor next to the pipeline, and paint from the anchor was found on the broken pipeline.
The anchor is believed to belong to the Newnew Polar Bear, as the ship was photographed without an anchor in October and was known to have been in the area when the pipeline was damaged. ing.
Finland said in November that China had pledged full cooperation in the pipeline investigation.
After the meeting with Xi, the Finnish president’s office said in a statement on Wednesday: “The two presidents took note of the constructive dialogue between the two countries regarding the Baltic Connector pipeline incident.”
Chinese state media also reported that the two presidents met, but did not provide details.
Finland said Niinistö and Xi discussed global political issues as well as other bilateral relations.
- Reuters with additional editing by Jim Pollard